Fresh point of view Of Pontiac

The only car with wide-track wheels.

Pontiac entered the new decade on a roll. Ever since 1955, when a powerful new V8 engine with great potential came onto the scene, the old image of Pontiac had quickly been shed.

For years, Pontiac were known as the solid, dependable family car, a little more posh than Chevrolet at only slightly more cost. The new V8 engine for Pontiac was just the beginning of a transformation that would position Pontiac as the market leader on many fronts. For now, that position was an important combination of power and style.

The redesigned 1959 Pontiac set the world on its ear with the distinctive split-grille front styling and the GM-style hardtop models’ ultra-thin roofing styling.

Most would have expected the 1960 models to fol- low the hot 1959 formula, but at the time design work was underway, the 1959 models were not yet on sale, so the designers didn’t know what they had on their hands. The 1960 models were given totally clean, horizontal bar grille work resembling that used on California-style customs of the period.

Dual, round tail lamps in the rear capped off a “customized” looking rear quarter area, marked by twin barrels from the rear window line to the tail lamps. The overall look was as well received as the 1959 models, yet looked totally different.

Continued for the 1960 model year was the “Wide- Track” marketing theme. While Wide-Track was an actual product improvement, providing a greater distance between wheels for greater stability on the road, in reality the difference was sometimes minuscule.

But it gave the buying public something to compare to other products, and thus it helped Pontiac gain a competitive edge. Few changes were made to the engine line this year. The success of Pontiac in racing probably had much to do with the durability of the 389 V8 in production usage.

Pontiac, by now, had earned a strong reputation for speed and endurance, and Pontiac drivers were winning numerous races on the relatively new NA SCAR racing circuit. As a tip-off to the street car’s relation to the race car, a 4-speed manual transmission became available during the year.

However, this transmission was not a regular production option, as most were shipped to racing teams and owners. A few nonetheless found their way into street cars. 65 1960 • Pontiac 1 9 6 0

Data plate identification: Eight to ten digit code read as fol- lows: 1st digit identifies the series (the second digit of the body style number in the charts below);

2nd and 3rddigits 60 for 1960; 4th digit is assembly plant code; and 1001 and up for serial number. A separate plate contains body style number. Example: 160X1001 is a 1960 Pontiac Catalina, serial number 1001, built in Fairfax, KS.